The Taliban and the government should immediately declare a ceasefire and come to the negotiating table, said Hafiz Saeed.

Hafiz Saeed, also the founder of LeT that was behind the 2008 Mumbai attacks, asked the Taliban leadership to “understand the trap of the enemy” and stop attacks inside Pakistan.

Amidst speculation about a military operation against militants in Pakistan’s restive tribal belt, Jamaat-ud-Dawah chief Hafiz Saeed on Thursday asked the Taliban to declare a truce and hold talks with the government.

The Taliban and the government should immediately declare a ceasefire and come to the negotiating table. “It is the need of the hour,” he said in a statement.

Saeed, also the founder of the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba that was behind the 2008 Mumbai attacks, asked the Taliban leadership to “understand the trap of the enemy” and stop attacks inside Pakistan.

He said the government “show seriousness so that peace talks with the Taliban could begin”.